Four-wheel driving mechanism.



F. L. FREEMAN. FOUR WHEEL DRIVING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAILZS I911. RENEWED DEC. 10,1914. 1,15,. PatentedJuly 6,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

fame/M101 FRANK FREEMAN, 0F TECUMSEH, NEBRASM FOUR-WHEEL DRIVINGMECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1915.

Application filed March 23, 1911, Serial No. 616,405. Renewed December10, 1914. Serial No. 876,550.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. FREEMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tecumseh, in the county of Johnson and State of Nebraska,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Four-Wheel DrivingMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in four-wheel driving mechanisms,and has for its leading object the provision of improved mechanism forsteering and driving the front wheels of a motor vehicle.

The further object of the invention is the provision of an improved formof stub axle and mechanism for steering and driving the wheel mounted onsaid axle.

()ther objects and advantages of my improved construction will beapparent from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, and it will be understood that I may make anychanges in the specific construction herein shown and described withinthe scope of the claim and without departing from or exceeding thespirit of the invention.

Figure 1 represents a rear view of the incased joint and yoke of thefront housing. Fig. 2 represents a similar view with the rear half ofthe inclosing casing removed Fig. 3 represents a vertical sectlonal viewon the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a cross sectional view onthe line 55 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 represents a vertical sectional viewon the line GG of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 7 designates the front hollow axleof an automobile, having the curved arms or brackets 8 formed thereonprovided at their ends with the enlarged portions 9 through .whichpasses the spindle 10 having mounted thereon the sleeve 11 having formedintegral therewith the stub axle'12 which projects from one side of thesleeve and having the circular lug 13 formed at the base of the axlewith a groove 14 therein providing a race for the ball-bearings 15.Secured on each end of the shaft 6 is a miter gear 16 while-in mesh withsaid gear is the gear 17 loosely mounted on the sleeve 11 and having thegroove 18 formed in its unden side to provide a race for the bearings19. A collar 20 is mounted on the sleeve and rests against. the lowerenlargement 9 of the arm 8 and has the ball race 21 in its upper face inwhich the lower portions of the balls 19 are engaged.

Mounted upon the stub axle 12 is the hub 22 of the front wheels 23,while fitting into a socket inthe inner end of the hub and having ribs24 projecting outward into the hub is the miter gear 25 in mesh anddriven by the gear 17 to rotate the hub, the gear member 25 having arace 26 formed in its inner face to engage the balls 14.

It will thus be seen that the rotation of the shaft 6 will serve throughthe gears 16, 17, and 25 to drive the front Wheel, while to steer thefront wheel I form on the sleeve 11 the rearwardly extending arms 27 towhich is secured the usual steering rod connecting the arms of thesleeve on each side.

To protect the gears and prevent them from being clogged by dirt, Isecure around the same my improved casing comprising the lower outersection 30 of substantially quadraspherical shape having curved recessesto fit around the hub 22 and around the disk 31, the member 30 and itscdrresponding member 32 having the recesses 33 to receive the upperportion of the disk 31. The member 32 is similar in shape to the member30 but in place of the semi-circular opening 36 which the sections30"a'nd 35 have to fit around the hub 22 the sections 32 and 34 have thecut away portions which curved plates 41 which are bolted to the innerend of the housing and fit tightly into the recess 40- to prevent dirtentering the easing at this oint.

The mem ers 34 and 35 have the coinciding cut away portions providing'the openin 42 through which the operating arm 27 projects, the sections30, 32, 34 and 35 hav ng the flanges 43 formed thereon through whichpass the securing bolts 44 for clamping them in position around thevarious parts.

arm the casing will likewise swing on the spindle 10 as a ivot, thehousing moving in the slot 37 0 facilitate the rotation of the frontshaft 6 I have mounted in the eX- tension 38 of the housing theanti-friction rollers 45, while formed in the outer ortion of themembers 30 and surroundlng the opening 36 is the recess 46 inclosed bythe cap plate 47, said recess being adapted to contain suitable packinginto which lubricant from within the casing will be forced forlubricating the hub and preventing its binding against the casing.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings theconstruction of my improved four-wheel driving mechanism will be readilyunderstood, and it will be seen that I have provided a front housinghaving solid bracing arms connected by a vertical spindle, a collarmounted on the spindle and having an integrally formed stub axle orspindle, gears carried by the front shaft and by the hub of the front,Wheel,-an intermediate gear for connecting the same, and an inclosingcasing for protecting the various parts which moves with the stub axleand has a suitably fprotected slot to allow it to move around the antaxle and housing while preventing dirt from entering.

It will further be observed that I have provided a simple, efficient,and practical driven front wheel in which the driving parts arethoroughly inclosed and protected from dirt and in which the means fordrivingly connecting the driven shaft with the hub are of the simplestcharacter which will thoroughly perform their functions and will notbecome readily' disarranged or broken and which can be readily replaced.

I claim:

In a front drive for-motor vehicles, the combination with a-hollow axlehaving arms, a spindle carried by the arms, a sectional gear casing, theouter upper and lower sections of which are formed with semicircularopenings which when confronting form an opening for the wheel hub, theinner upper and lower sections of said casing being provided with slotswhich when confronting form an opening for the assage of a portion ofthe hollow axle, a s eeve surrounding the spindle, an arm connected tothe sleeve and passing through the upper sections of the casing, saidarm being operable to swing the casing and wheel hub to steer thevehicle.

In testlmony whereof I afiix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

FRANK L. FREEMAN.

Witnesses E. E. YOUNG, L. D. SPENCE.

